Hope Summers
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 7, 1896
- Died
- June 22, 1979 (aged 83)
- Birthplace
- Mattoon, Illinois, USA
Biography
Hope Summers could portray a friendly neighbor or companion as she did for Frances Bavier's Aunt Bee character on many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show (1960) or a seemingly amiable Satanist in Rosemary's Baby (1968). Born in Mattoon, Illinois, she developed an early interest in the theater. Graduating from Northwestern School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois, she subsequently taught speech and diction there. This, in turn, led to her the head position in the Speech Department at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, teaching students privately on the side as well. In the 1930s Hope began to focus on acting. She found work in community and stock theaters in Illinois and earned some notice for putting on one-woman shows such as "Backstage of Broadway." She made use of her vocal eloquence by building up her resumé on radio, performing in scores of dramatic shows, including "Authors' Playhouse," "First Night," "Ma Perkins", and "Step-Mother". In 1950 Hope transferred her talents to the new medium of television and earned a regular role on the comedy series Hawkins Falls: A Television Novel (1950). By the age of 50 she was customarily called upon to play slightly older than she was, appearing in a number of minuscule matron roles in such films as Zero Hour! (1957), Hound-Dog Man (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), Spencer's Mountain (1963), The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), Charley Varrick (1973) and her last, Foul Play (1978). She never had any major stand-out roles in movies; TV would be a more prolific choice of medium. Her gently stern, old-fashioned looks allowed her to be a part of many small-town settings, including Dennis the Menace (1959) and Petticoat Junction (1963), and in various western locales such as Maverick (1957) and Wagon Train (1957). She played a rustic regular for many years on The Rifleman (1958). Usually assigned to play teachers, nurses and other helpful, nurturing types, her characters were also known to be inveterate gossips. Hope worked until close to the end of her life, passing away from heart failure in 1979.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Evil Town
Movie · as Alice Wylie (as Hope Summer)
Foul Play
Movie · as Ethel
Smokey and the Good Time Outlaws
Movie · as Marcie
Another Day
TV · 5 eps
Snip
TV · as Aunt Polly · 6 eps
Dr. Shagetz
Movie · as Alice Wylie
Welcome Back, Kotter
TV · 1 ep
Starsky & Hutch
TV · 1 ep
Indict and Convict
Movie · as Mrs. Potter
Our Time
Movie · as Biology Teacher
Death Sentence
Movie · as Emily Boylan
Little House on the Prairie
TV · as Addie Bjornesen · 1 ep
Chico and the Man
TV · 1 ep
Charley Varrick
Movie · as Mess Vesta
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
Movie · as Laura
Where Does It Hurt?
Movie · as Nurse Throttle
Get to Know Your Rabbit
Movie · as Mrs. Beeman
M*A*S*H
TV · as Nurse Meg Cratty · 1 ep
Night Gallery
TV · 1 ep
The Learning Tree
Movie · as Mrs. Kiner
Hawaii Five-O
TV · as Minnie Leona Moroney · 1 ep
Rosemary's Baby
Movie · as Mrs. Gilmore
The Shakiest Gun in the West
Movie · as Celia
5 Card Stud
Movie · as Customer in General Store (uncredited)
Mayberry R.F.D.
TV · as Clara Edwards · 2 eps
Adam-12
TV · as Clara Fisher · 1 ep
The Second Hundred Years
TV · as Mrs. Hansen · 1 ep
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Movie · as Susanna Blush
Penelope
Movie · as Shop Lady (uncredited)
Love on a Rooftop
TV · 1 ep
That Girl
TV · 1 ep
The Pruitts of Southampton
TV · 1 ep
The Hallelujah Trail
Movie · as Mrs. Hasselrad
One Man's Way
Movie · as Mrs. Elwood Thompson
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
TV · 1 ep
Bewitched
TV · 1 ep
Spencer's Mountain
Movie · as Mother Ida
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
TV · as Mrs. Rutledge · 1 ep
Petticoat Junction
TV · as Mabel Denton · 1 ep
Glynis
TV · 1 ep
The Couch
Movie · as Mrs. Quimby
The Beverly Hillbillies
TV · 1 ep
The Children's Hour
Movie · as Agatha
Homicidal
Movie · as Martha Adrims (Uncredited)
Parrish
Movie · as Mary (uncredited)
Claudelle Inglish
Movie · as Ernestine Peasley (uncredited)
Angel Baby
Movie · as Woman at Revival Meeting (uncredited)
The Dick Van Dyke Show
TV · 1 ep
The New Breed
TV · as Mrs. McCurtin · 1 ep
Dr. Kildare
TV · as Madge · 1 ep
Inherit the Wind
Movie · as Mrs. Krebs - Righteous Townswoman
The Andy Griffith Show
TV · as Clara Edwards · 32 eps
My Three Sons
TV · 2 eps
Edge of Eternity
Movie · as Motel Attendant
Hound-Dog Man
Movie · as Jewell Crouch
Law of the Plainsman
TV · as Mrs. Dodge · 1 ep
The Third Man
TV · as Irate woman · 1 ep
Dennis the Menace
TV · as Mrs. Burns · 1 ep
I Want to Live!
Movie · as Ethel - Policewoman on Bus (uncredited)
Peter Gunn
TV · 2 eps
The Rifleman
TV · as Hattie Denton · 3 eps
U.S. Marshall
TV · as Mrs. Martin (uncredited) · 1 ep
77 Sunset Strip
TV · as Mrs. Bell · 1 ep
Zero Hour!
Movie · as Older Woman
The Thin Man
TV · 1 ep
Maverick
TV · 1 ep
The Gale Storm Show
TV · as Angie Kirkham · 1 ep
Gunsmoke
TV · as Ellen Cade, Della, Jen · 1 ep
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV · as Marie Tallendier, Maid · 1 ep
Son of Man
Movie · as Miss Johnson
General Electric Theater
TV · as Elizabeth, Aunt, Mrs. Wagner · 1 ep
Private Secretary
TV · 1 ep
Letter to Loretta
TV · as Nurse O'Brien · 2 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV · as Old Lady · 1 ep
Better Use of Leisure Time
Movie · as Mrs. Michaels (uncredited)